Evaluation of Vitamin D Levels in Pediatric Patients With Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis

Abstract

Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis is one of the most common oral mucosal diseases. It is characterized by recurrent painful attacks. Its etiology is unknown. Vitamin D (vit D) is a steroid vitamin with immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. It is thought that oral cavity diseases may occur in vitamin D deficiency. This study aimed to investigate vit D levels in pediatric patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.Methods: In this retrospective study, 86 children with recurrent aphthous stomatitis and 71 age-matched healthy children were included in the study. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels examined with the enzyme immune assay were recorded for both groups.Results: Serum vit D level was 12±4.5 ng/ml in the group with aphthous stomatitis and 31±7 ng/ml in the healthy group. A statistically significant difference was found in vit D levels between the two groups (p<0.001).Conclusions: Vit D levels were significantly low in children with recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Our findings suggest that low vit D levels may be associated with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

Vitamin D deficiency and risk of recurrent aphthous stomatitis: updated meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis

“…Of the 14 included studies, 11 studies ( 12 , 14 , 28 – 30 , 32 – 35 , 39 , 40 ) found significantly lower serum levels of vitamin D in RAS patients compared to the controls ( Table 2 ); one study found insignificant ( P = 0.056) lower serum levels of vitamin D in RAS patients ( 13 ); while two studies did not find any differences between the two groups ( 11 , 18 ).…”

“…A total of 14 case-controlled studies comprising 1468 subjects (721 RAS patients and 747 controls) were included in this meta-analysis ( 11 – 14 , 18 , 28 – 30 , 32 – 35 , 39 , 40 ). Six studies were conducted in Turkey ( 12 – 14 , 34 , 39 , 40 ), three in Iran ( 28 , 30 , 35 ), one in Poland ( 18 ), one in India ( 33 ), one in Saudi Arabia ( 32 ), one in the United Arab Emirates ( 11 ) and one in Iraq ( 29 ). The mean age of study participants ranged from 29.26 to 40.60 years, and from 27.44 to 40.80 years in the control groups.…”

“…The mean age of study participants ranged from 29.26 to 40.60 years, and from 27.44 to 40.80 years in the control groups. Two studies were conducted in children with mean age ranging from 7.6 to 8.7 years ( 34 , 40 ). Of 721 RAS cases, around 56% ( n = 404) were females ( Table 1 ).…”

“…Eight studies ( 28 – 30 , 32 , 34 , 35 , 39 , 40 ) included patients with minor RAS, two studies ( 18 , 33 ) included patients with minor, major, and herpetiform RAS, and one study ( 12 ) included patients with minor and major RAS, while three studies ( 11 , 13 , 14 ) did not mention the type of RAS. All the included studies assessed the serum levels of vitamin D, seven of which used ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) ( 29 , 30 , 32 – 35 , 40 ), while four studies ( 11 , 18 , 28 , 39 ) used ECLIA (electro-chemiluminescence binding assay). Three studies ( 12 – 14 ) did not mention the type of the assay.…”

“…A summary of the quality assessment of the included studies is presented in Table 3 . Of the included studies, 12 ( 12 – 14 , 18 , 28 – 30 , 32 – 35 , 40 ) were of moderate quality, while two studies ( 11 , 39 ) were of high quality.…”